Grey Reflection
by Enshi
Summary: Look into the mind of Naruto as he journeys across an anicent and divided world. In searching for his answers, the lonely child who is bereft of love seeks to find the meaning to his existence, with trials and tribulations awaiting in the shadows.


Naruto: Grey Reflection

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and its contents (i.e. storyline, characters and such...). I guess I own the ideas I come up with but that's about all, after all uni students are all poor in nature.

Prologue: A shinobi's choice

The shinobi's face was newly painted with the blood of his comrades; the gloomy night itself somehow requited the emptiness he now felt. Tears of sorrow dripped uncontrollably from his crimson eyes as he realised what he had just done. For Naruto, this bloody scene remained vividly engraved in his memories; the pale moonlight that struck his face, the lifeless body of a friend in his arms and the scattered kunais that now lay on the forest floor. Once again, the young man was thrown into the endless pit of darkness and despair; there was no need for words as the fearsome Kyuubi sang to him of blood and war.

_In the morning after:_

'I warned you of betrayal, did I not?' The nine-tail demon smugly enquired.

'Shut up, you damn fox! The only reason you wanted me to leave is so you could have my body' Naruto yelled out in his mind.

'…A life without meaning has no need of existence, this goes for both me and you'.

'So I guess I should just kill myself'. Naruto said in a barely audible voice.

'No, you fool, find a new meaning in your life'.

'What, adopt your sadistic motto; kill everything in sight'.

'You would already be dead if you weren't my host, so for once stop being a worthless loser and choose your life for yourself. I always wondered why you would want the appreciation of one or two mere humans when you could have the whole world tremble in fear'.

'They are precious to me! That's why!' Naruto loudly reputed

'The same 'precious people' that told this Anbu squad to murder you while you were asleep?'

'I am sure Ba-chan has a good explanation' Naruto replied in a doubtful voice.

'Face it kid; even if she didn't plan this the entire Leaf Village cast their hate at you without hesitation nor mercy...Find your meaning for existence by tomorrow morning and I shall teach you one of my techniques'.

'Fine, just get out of my head for awhile, you damn demon'.

With Kyuubi now gone, Naruto began to examine the silent battlefield; the stench of corpses now filled the air and countless shurikens were embedded into the gigantic oaks of the forest.

'Finding the meaning for existence? Sounds like a bunch of crap to me'. Naruto nonchalantly thought to himself as he jumped from branch to branch to leave the now calm battlefield.

The sun now rose into the endless blue sky in all its blazing glory, yet none of its beauty dawned upon a certain blonde-headed boy as he slumped by the side of an ancient tree trunk with eyes wide shut.

'Hey brat, time to wake up and give me your answer!' The nine-tailed fox growled within the boy's mind.

'Shut up Fox, the only answer I am going to give you involves two words' Naruto complained to the demon lord without hesitation or fear.

'I see, so I would be correct to assume that you would not need my charka also…' The fox slyly added.

'Fine, I am up and my answer to you is I don't know'

'Pity, it seems you can only go so far with your existence'

'That's pretty funny, considering you are locked in a cage for the rest of your life'

'Do not taunt me boy, I will have my revenge someday...but for now I am going to make you an offer that you can't refuse'

'What's that? Die off and never come back'

'…'

'I see it in your eyes, you still care for those mortal fools, and I am willing to guarantee the downfall of the Sound and any other threats to your 'beloved' village for as long as you live'

'What's the catch? A demon offering to protect the village that brought your downfall, I maybe stupid but I am not going to fall for this one'

'Hateful mortals, must everything depend on your own desires.' The demon scoffed.

'You my dear Naruto fear loneliness above all else. Your desire for acceptance has moulded you into someone you are not…ask yourself, would you really have become a shinobi if the villagers loved you? Your longing for their approval has driven you into the depths of hell; you are now surrounded by the shadows of death and forever tormented by your past sins'.

'What I offer you is not merely for my own benefit but also for yours. I will give what you craved for the most…power, the power to change your own destiny and break loose those shackles that bind you to the expectations of others. I offer you real freedom, a freedom that is not conformed to the selfishness of pesky commoners but to your heart'

For once in Naruto's life, he remained silent. The pretentious smile that often adorned his face was now gone. The smile he wore now had no sadness to it and tears of joy flowed down his face. For the first time in his life, there was no need to cover his loneliness anymore, Naruto was simply Naruto…and for now he was free.

However, the nine-tailed fox did not embrace the occasion as emotionally, instead the demon shrugged off Naruto's behaviour as those befitting of a paradoxical race and commented that if he wanted to hunt down a rabbit, he would simply do it and not care about the need of other foxes.

Naruto cheekily replied 'Yeah, but look at where this motto got you? Stuck in a cell with no back-up'

'So what's my side of the bargain?' asked Naruto out of necessity more than anything else

'It is rather simply really, you are to become one with me'

'What the hell are you talking about?'

'The fusion of souls or in your words we would be stuck together with both mind and body'

Realisation now dawned on Naruto; his freedom came at a great price. He was to sell a part of his soul to the devil just to feel free. Hesitation now crept into Naruto's mind as he recollected the terrible past accounts of Kyuubi's destruction. He was to become one with the source of his outcast status.

'What do you get out of this?' Naruto cautiously enquired.

'The same as you, the freedom to breathe air as it was meant to be breathed'. The fox answered philosophically.

'Do you promise to let no harm come to the leaf?'

'So you still hold on to the expectation of others…yes, very well I will hold onto my part of the bargain'

'You do know I will kill us both if you try something funny?'

'I know' whispered the fox.

Soon, the ritual began at the time of dawn. Naruto was now standing in front of Kyuubi's vast and ancient prison, the bars of steel that remained in front of him stood tall and mighty as if reflecting the Fourth's will to protect the Leaf. Naruto now stood in front of those iron bars and looked into the endless darkness that resided within the prison itself. Slowly, he began to approach the Kyuubi and of his own free, he ripped down the Fourth's seal that was attached to the bars. The trembling sound of falling iron could not be heard as the bars crumbled under their master's will, no longer did Naruto wished that nine-tails be imprisoned.

Slowly the dreadful footsteps of Kyuubi could be heard as he walked slowly towards Naruto. However, his eyes were not filled with thoughts of companionship or the steely resolve to keep his promise; in those bloody red orbs there was only evil.

'At last I am free' the fox salivated.

_Otaku Theatre_

'It is rather simply really, you are to become one with me'

Naruto simply looked at Kyuubi and cringed.

'Look we might be room mates, but I don't go that way'.

Out of nowhere, big white signs come up with the words 'yaoi alert'.

Kyuubi however ignored the wisdom of those words and still tried to convince Naruto of his malicious plans.

Suddenly the large sign begin to fall on top of Kyuubi, crushing him to a bloody and needless death.

Meanwhile, Naruto looked on and thought to himself 'So that's how you kill a demon'.


End file.
